1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to railroad hopper-type cars for transportation of ballast and more particularly to gate assembly units usable with a bottom outlet in the car body to allow selective discharge of the ballast.
2. Prior Art:
Use of a gate assembly unit to control the discharge of ballast through a bottom outlet in a hopper-type railroad car is well known. Known gate assemblies are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,645,872, 3,822,650 and 4,009,664.
The gate assembly of the '872 patent is attached to sloped extensions of the ballast car bottom and includes a manually rotatable discharge control member. Rotation of the member allows ballast to fall from an opening and be diverted to either side of a rail in a distribution channel defined by a sidewall and end walls of the control member. The gate assembly of the '650 patent is similar to that disclosed in the '872 patent, except that the discharge control member is formed with a concave discharge plate to define in part its distribution channel. In the '664 patent the gate assembly further includes a locking device to hold the discharge control member in a fixed location.